Gas bag restraint systems with multiple-chamber gas bags for drivers and passengers are already known.
One possibility of providing first and second chambers consists in simply sewing together opposing wall portions of the gas bag by means of a tear seam and thereby producing a first and a second part which defines the wall of the first and the second chamber, respectively. The second chamber is completely separated from the first chamber. Only after reaching a predetermined internal pressure of the gas bag in the first chamber is the tear seam destroyed and gas flows into the second chamber. In this state, the two chambers communicate with each other, it also being possible that in so doing only one large chamber is produced. By providing a gas bag having several chambers, the size of the unfolded gas bag can be adapted to the respective situation in the case of restraint (e.g. to the intensity of impact, the position and the constitution of the vehicle occupant). Another possibility for providing a gas bag having several chambers consists, stated in simplified form, in arranging a small gas bag inside a larger gas bag and providing overflow openings in the wall of the smaller gas bag which are only opened after a predetermined internal pressure in the first chamber is reached. With the provision of two gas bags encased one in another, however, the expenditure for the manufacture of the gas bag is very great. With the provision of a gas bag with a taken-in region, the problem arises that on unfolding of only the first chamber, the outer wall for the second chamber strikes out toward the vehicle occupant in the manner of a whip and can lead to injuries.